Photo: Live4ever Media
Overall attendance figures for this year’s UK festival season are set to fall this year according to a new YouGov poll.
The YouGov Sixth Sense Music Festival Report has discovered half of those who took part in the survey do not expect to attend a festival this year after visiting an event in 2011, with only around a third of those polled planning on doing so. One in five had not yet made a decision on their summer plans.
Amidst constantly increasing ticket prices, which now mean festival-goers can expect to be forced to pay the best part of £200 for each of the major summer events, one third of the 1,000 adults polled suggested festivals have become too expensive, while only five per cent believed them to provide value for money.
When surmising the poll’s findings, James McCoy, Research Director for YouGov, has concluded the absence of Glastonbury this year, as well as other major summer events in the UK including the London Olympics and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, are likely to have played a role in the drop in numbers of those stating their intention to purchase festival tickets in 2012.
“While financial constraints may curtail the number going to festivals this year, factors within the industry itself should also be taken into account,” McCoy has said.
“The absence of Glastonbury festival is particularly significant. It’s the flagship UK music festival and the most visible expression of festival culture, occupying a key place in the UK psyche.”